Seguin English Opera: Martha

[The first line of the review is missing.] “...amusing in spite of some serious [missing word]. Mr. Brookhouse Bowler, who was suffering from a cold, begged the indulgence of the audience. If he had apologized also for the orchestra, and craved pardon for Mr. Drayton’s hoarseness, he would have done perhaps a charitable deed. Still he went through the part of Lionel with credit considering the circumstances, and Plunket made amends for the condition of his voice by some excellent bits of acting. For the words of the Porter Song, Mr. Drayton substituted a good and appropriate comic ballad, fitted to the original music, and made an excellent effect with it. The life of the performance, however, was the Nancy of Mrs. Seguin. This character has long been one of Mrs. Seguin’s best, and she improved it last night with some pleasant quips and cranks and merry devices which we do not remember to have seen before. Her singing of course was almost beyond criticism; she is an artist of a very different rank from the rest of the company, and she shines among her associates like a star of the first magnitude. Miss Howson did fairly as Lady Henrietta, and was cordially applauded; and Mr. Edward Seguin was an excellent Tristam, as he as so many times been before. The disorder of Mr. Reiff’s orchestra hardly admits of excuse; but the audience was not disposed to be exacting, and the evening passed off, judging from a popular point of view, with entire success. ‘Martha’ is to be repeated this evening, and the last two nights of the season will be devoted to ‘The Doctor of Alcantara,’ which has been so long neglected in New-York that it will be to many an entire novelty. Upon the whole, Mr. Seguin may be congratulated upon the result of his Summer experiment. The representations have not been free from faults, but the pretensions have not been extravagant, and the public has apparently been satisfied.”